


Bad Habits

by kritter



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-27
Updated: 2019-06-27
Packaged: 2020-05-28 05:08:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19387123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kritter/pseuds/kritter
Summary: Another fight and another bloody nose. Markus does his best to manage the situation.





	Bad Habits

Leo's eye was bruised, his nose was bloody, and he staggered through the door with a weakened limp, sniffling as he headed towards the bathroom, grabbing tissue to hold to his nose while it dripped. Catching sight of his figure, Markus hastily darted behind him out of pure paternal instinct.

"Leo?" Startled, Leo spun around with wide eyes as his heart skipped a beat, before relaxing.

"Fuck, I told you not to do that," he groaned, but Markus didn't know how to respond.

"What happened to you?"

"Well, what's it look like?" Rolling his eyes, Leo removed the tissue and checked the bleeding, which had slowed, but not stopped. Markus wasted no time grabbing the first-aid kit, then dabbing a washcloth with water, moving Leo's hand away to start wiping off the blood.

"Did you break your nose?"

"Uh, once or twice," he said with a sarcastic, joking tone. Markus didn’t appreciate it.

"I dunno. It doesn't feel like it. Can't you like, do x-rays or something with those crazy eyes of yours?" Markus looked surprised and a bit offended but shook his head.

"My functionality regarding injuries are limited, even as a caretaker. I wasn't designed to be a nurse," he concluded. Leo sighed.

"Better not be fuckin' broken. I'm not doing another hospital visit this month." Markus scrunched his face as Leo, yet again, stubbornly put his preferences over his own health.

"Leo, if it's broken, it needs reset. You know this." Leo grimaced, then moaned with dismay.

"Fine. But I'm taking some painkillers first, let me get my shit together." He laughed at the double meaning of his own phrasing, but Markus wasn't done fussing, turning Leo's head by the chin to get a closer look. Leo looked disgruntled, but Markus was grateful he was cooperating.

"Get some ice to put on it," he suggested, before leaning away so Leo could get past.

"Sure, bro," he said dismissively, grabbing his jacket but dismissing the ice. Markus fetched it for him instead.  
-  
Leo grimaced at the android behind the front counter, so Markus stepped ahead, informing it of the situation with eye contact and a yellow LED rotation.

"Please take a seat, someone will be right with you," it responded politely.

"Whatever, but make sure it's a human. I'm not being looked after by a damn computer," he huffed and it nodded acceptingly.

Recognizing his usual doctor - a young Vietnamese woman with a crooked overbite - he threw her a looming glare, and she responded with a sarcastic smile.

"Leo," she chimed.

"Lovely seeing you again. What brings you in today?" She led him away after a nurse handled his vitals. Shifting the ice on his face, Leo almost snapped, before catching himself.

"Nose might be broken," he said simply with another sniffle. She shook her head with a quiet 'tsk, tsk.'

"Again? Well, okay. Let's get you to a room and take a look," she mused. He reluctantly followed, and the jagged stance in his walk caught her attention.

"Your leg hurting you again?"

"Always," he murmured. She offered a sympathetic gaze.

"Well, everything looks normal so far. Care to tell me what happened?" He rolled his eyes.

"Jackson," was all he said. Tilting her head, she looked curious, shifting with an expression of disappointment following.

"Of course. What was it? Drugs? Money?"

"No!" he snapped a bit too loud, quieting down in a moment of embarrassment.

"Yeah," he huffed with a sigh.

"Well, since your vitals are normal I assume you're still sober?" He nodded.

"I still owe everyone so much and it catches up, I guess."

"I worry for you," she said simply.

"Me too," he muttered.

-

The piercing scream caught Markus' attention immediately, turning his head in the direction of his hospital room. It must have been broken after all.

Once Leo returned, his nose was in a splint and stuffed with gauze. Markus frowned.

"I hate myself," he said arbitrarily with a stuffy voice.

"Let's go. I fucking hate this place." Acknowledging his sunken mood, Markus stood up.

"Do you want anything?" There wasn't much he could do in favor of the pain, but naturally he wanted to get Leo as comfortable as he possibly could.

"An energy drink and some chips would be great," he murmured.

"There's a store down the road. Can you walk?" Leo glanced down at his leg, giving it a shake for emphasis and nodding.

"Little bitch always goes for low blows," he spat with snide.

"We've talked about how you should stay away from people like that," Markus stated, but made a point to sound neutral lest the scolding worsen Leo's mood.

"What happened?"

"I know it's hard to believe," he snarked, "but I didn't go looking for a fight! He found me and started getting up in my face. The fuck was I supposed to do?" Markus frowned with a glare of concern as Leo nearly tripped as soon as they left the building.

"Walk away?" The tone was more condescending than he meant it to be, and Leo sighed.

"Easy for you to say. We also talked about the fact we both have a hard time stepping down. Your thing was just uh, different,” Leo said, tilting his head and scratching his hair. Markus couldn’t deny his point, so he remained quiet.

“See? War and violence and shit, it’s crap, but I do what I have to, just like you did.” Sort of.

“You don’t have to get into fights, Leo.” Reacting with a grimace as he was caught without any response, he shrugged.

“Like I said. He provoked me first. I just… can’t back down, I guess,” he murmured. Markus reminded himself Leo’s been fighting for himself, his life among various other things since he was a teenager, and the habit would die hard.

“So, this was an accidental happenstance?” Markus couldn’t imagine such a thing, but he wanted to try and understand, for Leo’s sake as well.

“Er, yeah. You can call it that. Wasn’t planning on it.” With a long exhale through his nostrils, Markus opened the door to the shop to let Leo through.

“Have you taken your meds?” Leo didn’t respond, which wasn’t a resound no, and he usually said so if he hadn’t.

“I, er. We should stop by the pharmacy,” he said quietly, still getting over the embarrassment of his diagnoses.

“Sure,” Markus responded.

“We can put it in the bag with the groceries,” he said to respect the fact Leo didn’t being seen with them. With a small exhale of relief, he nodded.


End file.
